LONGMONT -- The Longmont man who authorities say caused the single-vehicle accident Friday night that killed his 7-year-old son pleaded no-contest to charges of driving under the influence and abandonment/abuse of a child in 2009 in New Mexico.

The Colorado State Patrol is investigating whether Manuel Nunez-Luna, 41, was intoxicated at the time of Friday night's crash at Colo. Highway 119 and Colo. Highway 52.

In April 2009, Nunez-Luna was arrested in Roswell, N.M., and charged with driving under the influence and with abandonment/abuse of a child. He later pleaded no contest to those charges, according to New Mexico court records.

Nunez-Luna

He also was labeled a habitual offender because of a felony conviction in Boulder County in 2006, when Nunez-Luna pleaded guilty to theft of between $500 and $15,000. He received a deferred jail sentence, which was revoked in 2010. He was then sentenced to 18 months of probation, with 90 days of electronic monitoring.

Nunez-Luna also pleaded guilty to theft charges in 2006 in Gilpin County and in 2007 in Boulder County.

His traffic violations in Boulder and Broomfield counties date back to 1988, when he was found guilty of a permit violation. Subsequent offenses for which he was convicted include failure to yield, no proof of insurance and careless driving. Nunez-Luna, who also goes by Manuel Nunez Jr., paid fines and court costs for those offenses, court records show.

Boulder County District Attorney Stan Garnett said Monday that Nunez-Luna likely will face charges later in the week.

"Certainly, the fact that there's possibly alcohol involved is an issue we will look at very closely," Garnett said. "In Colorado, if one is driving under the influence and there is a death, most of the time vehicular homicide charges are appropriate."

Nunez-Luna was driving a 1996 Ford Explorer north on Colo. 119 about 9:20 p.m. Friday when he reportedly ran a red light at Colo. 52, according to the State Patrol. He swerved to avoid crossing traffic and rolled the Explorer on to its side.

Vicente Nunez, one of seven passengers in the vehicle, was partially ejected from the cargo area and later pronounced dead at Boulder Community Hospital.

State Patrol said all the occupants of the vehicle in Friday night's crash were related. Nunez-Luna and his other passengers -- 37-year-old Yadira Silva, 19-year-old Mary Cruz-Lopez and four other children ages 5 to 15, all from Longmont -- sustained minor injuries in the crash. At least two children, including Vicente, were not wearing seat belts, according to State Patrol.

Nunez-Luna was arrested and released following the accident. A booking log for the Boulder County Jail shows a 41-year-old Manuel Nunez Jr. was arrested by the State Patrol on suspicion of DUI at 3:05 a.m. Saturday.

Cars pass by the location of a crash Monday, Aug. 26, 2013, near the Diagonal Highway and Mineral Road in Boulder County. On Friday, Aug. 23, a single-car crash killed a 7-year-old boy and injured six others.
(Matthew Jonas/Times-Call)

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